Kachin Rebels Say Burma Military Kills 3 Civilians in Artillery Attack
Ethnic Kachin rebels in northern Burma say government forces shelled the town they use as their headquarters, killing three civilians and wounding three others.
A member of the Kachin Independence Army said the attack on the town of Laiza, near Burma's northeast border with China occurred early Monday morning. He said one of those killed was a 15-year-old boy.
The Kachinland News, an independent media organization that reports news in ethnic Kachin areas, quoted a witness as saying shells fell in a residential area where about 40,000 displaced Kachins from other areas of Burma live with local residents.
The United States and the United Nations are urging the Burmese government to stop its campaign of strikes against rebels in Kachin state, where an escalation in violence is threatening the country's reform process.
Switerland Leads Effort to Refer Syria to ICC
More than 50 countries, led by Switzerland, will ask the United Nations Security Council Monday to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court, a move that would pave the way for war crimes prosecutions.
A letter obtained by the Associated Press cites the findings of a U.N. expert panel documenting torture, sexual violence and summary executions that have occurred in Syria since the start of the uprising in March 2011.
The violence continued Sunday as Syrian fighter jets bombed the Damascus suburbs, killing at least nine people, including a number of children, in a government offensive to dislodge rebels from strategic areas around the capital.
A report by the opposition Damascus Media Center cited as many as 36 people killed in the attack, including 14 children. That account could not be independently confirmed.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths occurred when a shell exploded in the eastern Ghouta district on the outskirts of the capital.
Video footage showed women weeping near the dismembered bodies of children lying in a muddy field near an air base on the edge of the town of Muleiha.
A member of the group said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces were targeting civilian areas to try to weaken support for the rebels.
Rebels have been attacking the Muleiha base for days and the army has fired hundreds of rockets on the town in response.
Clashes also raged around army bases and airfields in northern Syria.
Meanwhile, Russia urged the rebels to make counter-proposals to those made by Mr. Assad in a recent speech to start a dialogue that could end the fighting.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday that if he were “in the opposition's place,” he would come up with ideas in response on how to establish a dialogue.
He repeated Russia's position that the opposition's demand for Mr. Assad to quit could not be a precondition for peace talks to end the 21-month conflict that has killed at least 60,000 people.
Argo triumphs at Critics Choice Awards
Hostage drama Argo was the big winner at this year's Critics' Choice Awards, hours after director Ben Affleck missed out on an Oscar nomination.
Affleck jokingly "thanked the Academy" as he accepted best director, but added: "This is the one that counts." The movie was also named best film.
Oscar favourites Daniel Day Lewis and Jessica Chastain won the best actor and actress prizes respectively.
In a separate comedy category, Silver Linings Playbook swept the board.
The film won best comedy actor and actress for leads Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, best comedy film, and best ensemble for a cast which includes Oscar nominees Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver.
Director David O Russell dedicated his award to his son - who, like the film's male lead has bipolar disorder - saying: "I made it to give him hope," adding, "That's my silver lining."
Lawrence, who bagged an Oscar nomination for best actress on Thursday, also took home the best actress in an action movie for The Hunger Games, based on the bestselling book.
"Critics aren't so bad," she joked, as she accepted the award,
Skyfall was named best action movie, a day after it failed to become the first Bond film to secure a best picture Oscar nomination.
Its star Daniel Craig also picked up the best actor in an action film prize, and Adele won the best song award for the title song Skyfall - a prize she is tipped to win at the Oscars.
The awards are handed out by the 250-member Broadcast Film Critics Association, the largest film critics organisation in the United States and Canada.
Les Miserables' Anne Hathaway, who attended the ceremony in Los Angeles with her co-star Hugh Jackman received the best supporting actress prize, while Philip Seymour Hoffman was named best supporting actor for his turn as a cult leader in The Master.
Nine-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis, who this week became the youngest actress to secure an Oscar nomination, won in the best young actor or actress category.
'Genius' award
Other notable winners included Michael Haneke's Amour, which won best foreign film and Quentin Tarantino, who picked up best original screenplay for his spaghetti western-style film Django Unchained.
Munich screenwriter Tony Kushner won Lincoln's second award of the night, for best adapted screenplay. The presidential drama leads the Oscar hopefuls with 12 Academy Award nominations.
However, Life of Pi - nominated for 11 Oscars - only won two technical awards.
Comedy writer and director Judd Apatow, best known for box office hits such as The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, received a special "genius" award created to honour "an unprecedented demonstration of excellence in the cinematic arts".
The awards precede Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony.
Justin Timberlake's ready to release new music
Now that we're done hyperventilating and collectively freaking out, we can talk about Justin Timberlake's announcement that he's back in business. The music business, to be precise.
A rep for the newly married entertainer said in August that Timberlake didn't have new solo music in the works, despite rumors to the contrary. But it would appear that in 2013 Timberlake is changing his tune.
The 31-year-old dropped hints on Twitter and on his website that new tunes are forthcoming, even setting up a countdown clock so the eagerly anticipating can watch the seconds tick by.
"Your wait will be over Sunday........" said Timberlake in a vague post on his website. Thankfully, he also offered a YouTube clip that gives a little more clarity.
"To whom it may concern...I think I'M READY!" he tweeted with a link to the clip.
In it, he describes being asked whether he had parted ways with his music career for good.
"It means more to me than anybody else in the world" Timberlake said, as the video tracks him walking into a booth in a recording studio and donning a pair of headphones.
"I'm the one who sits and is obsessive about it before you even get to hear it," he continued. "As close as I get to it, I don't know if I could physically torture myself that much year in and year out and expect it to fulfill me the way that it does, and the way that it is right now. I don't want to put anything out that I feel like is something I don't love. You just don't get that everyday. You have to wait for it."
And wait we will - in the meantime, we'll be playing "Future/Sex/Love/Sounds."
Buju Banton Put Studies On Hold Pending Verdict In Case
Buju Banton place his studies on hold while behind bars but the dilemma might be worth it.
A juror misconduct breathe new life into Buju Banton ongoing fight for freedom.
Hope For Buju Banton, Judge Ordered Probe Into Juror Misconduct
Less than a year after being sentenced to 10 years in prison, Buju Banton’s legal team saw an opening when juror Teri Wright told a South Florida journalist that she researched aspects of the case during the trial. That is a direct violation of court orders.
Buju Banton, who was pursuing a Masters Degree in Political Science while serving his sentence in Miami, have since being relocated to the Pinellas County Jail in Tampa while awaiting a judge ruling on the new development.
“He was, in fact, pursuing his education but that has been put on hold since he is now in a Tampa jail awaiting the outcome of this latest development,” Buju Banton lawyer Kwame Lumumba said.
Last week Federal Judge James Moody ordered a full investigation into the alleged misconduct of the juror. US Marshals have since confiscated the juror computers as part of their investigation.
Moody will decide whether or not to grant the Grammy-winning singer a new trial in the coming weeks.
UrbanIslandz
Britney Spears will not return as judge on X Factor
Britney Spears will not be returning to the US version of The X Factor.
The singer spent one series with the show, sharing the judging panel with Simon Cowell, Demi Lovato and L.A. Reid.
She is thought to be taking time to work on new material, but also faced some criticism for her performance as a judge on the show.
Fellow judge L.A. Reid is also stepping down from The X Factor USA.
Last year much of the cast was updated after the first series did not do as well as expected.
British presenter Steve Jones was replaced as the host by Khloe Kardashian and Mario Lopez.
Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger also left the judging panel at the end of the first series.
That was the same series that featured Cheryl Cole in the original line-up, before she was replaced by Nicole Scherzinger, who was moved from her former position as co-host.
The second series of The X Factor USA was won by country music singer Tate Stevens, who was mentored by L.A. Reid.
--BBC
Superman: Warner Bros secures commercial control of hero
Warner Bros have won an important legal victory over the heirs of one of the creators of Superman, giving it total commercial control of the superhero.
An appeals panel unanimously ruled that Jerome Siegel's heirs must abide by a 2001 letter accepting Warner's offer for their 50% share of Superman.
Though the five-page letter was never formalised into a contract, the appeals court said it was still binding.
The latest Superman film, Man of Steel, is due to be released this summer.
In his ruling, Judge Stephen Reinhardt, of the 9th US Circuit of Appeals, wrote both parties "had resolved the last outstanding point in the deal during a conversation on Oct 15, 2001".
He added the letter "accurately reflected the material terms they had orally agreed to on that day,"
The ruling undoes a 2008 court decision ordering Warner Bros. to share an undetermined amount of money earned since 1999 with the heirs, and to give the family control of key components of the Superman story, including his costume.
Superman's co-creators, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, battled for higher compensation for the comic book creation throughout their lives.
"The court's decision paves the way for the Siegel finally to receive the compensation they negotiated for and which DC has been prepared to pay for over a decade," said a statement from Warner Bros, on behalf of its DC Comics division.
"We are extremely pleased that Superman's adventures can continue to be enjoyed across all media platforms worldwide for generations to come."
Second case
While the Siegel family have yet to issue any comment, lawyer Marc Toberoff - who also acts for the heirs of co-creator Joe Shuster, has indicated that the Shuster heirs will appeal a different court decision from October 2012, which awarded Warner Bros all rights to the Superman character.
In 2010, DC Comics sued the brother and sister of Shuster, the artist responsible for the superhero, on the basis that they relinquished their ability to reclaim the copyrights in exchange for annual pension payments from DC Comics.
US District Judge Otis Wright ruled that Shuster's sister's decision to accept higher annual payments created a new agreement which cancelled any previous contract, adding the families of both creators have been paid in excess of $4m (£2.5m) since 1978, plus undefined bonuses and medical benefits.
Superman has generated more than $500m (£310m) for Warner Bros with five films at the US box office and billions of dollars more from television, toys and games, and comic books spanning 74 years.
British actor Henry Cavill takes over the role of Superman in the latest big screen instalment, with Oscar nominee Amy Adams as Lois Lane. It is expected to hit cinemas across the world on 14 June.
UK economy 'contracted in fourth quarter'
The UK economy contracted by 0.3% in the last three months of 2012, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).
The NIESR blamed it on artificially strong growth in the third quarter.
If the figure is confirmed by official data later this month, it will mean that the economy returned to growth for only a single quarter.
It would also mean the economy saw zero growth for the whole of 2012.
All tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics were considered in the official statistics to have been bought in the third quarter of 2012, when the games took place.
That flattered the economy, which registered growth of 0.9% in the three-month period.
It meant that without the one-off factor the economy would have had to find considerable growth from elsewhere to avoid a contraction in the final three months of the year.
The NIESR said that without the one-off factors the economy would have been basically flat for the third and fourth quarters.
The conclusion from the NIESR is supported by some gloomy official figures released earlier in the day.
The index of production grew 0.3% in November, compared with October, but had been expected to grow more as some North Sea oil and gas production resumed following maintenance.
Construction sector output contracted 3.4% in the month.
But both sectors are much smaller than the service sector, which posted 0.1% growth in October compared with September.
Official figures for the service sector for November have not yet been released, but the widely-watched Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index showed the sector growing at its slowest pace for two years in the month.
Ford to hire 2,200 extra US staff to meet growing sales
Ford plans to hire 2,200 new staff in the US this year, in response to the continuing rise in American car sales.
The country's second-largest carmaker by sales, it said it would hire engineers, computer programmers and other office workers.
Ford's US car sales totalled 2.3 million last year, 5% higher than 2011.
Industry-wide US sales in 2012 came in at 14.5 million, a five-year high. Ford predicts this figure will rise to between 15 and 16 million this year.
Honda and Nissan have also recently announced that they will be taking on extra staff in the US.
Nissan is hiring an additional 400 people over the next two years to make its Murano sports utility vehicle in Mississippi, while Honda is adding 50 new jobs in Ohio where it will build its new hybrid Accord sedan car.
US car sales are rising as the country's economy continues to grow. More cheap loans are becoming available as the banking sector recovers from the turmoil caused by the credit crisis of recent years.
By contrast, car sales in Europe are falling because of continuing recession in southern European nations that are battling to reduce their sovereign debt levels.
On Friday, Honda said it was planning to cut 800 jobs at its factory in Swindon, UK, blaming weak demand across Europe.
Japanese government approves $116bn stimulus package
The Japanese government has approved a fresh 10.3 trillion yen ($116bn; £72bn) stimulus package in an attempt to spur a revival in its economy.
The package will include infrastructure spending, as well as incentives for businesses to boost investment.
Tokyo estimates that the stimulus will boost Japan's economy by 2% and create 600,000 jobs.
Japan's economy has been hurt by a dip in exports amid slowing global demand and subdued domestic consumption.
The world's third-largest economy is currently in a recession, having contracted for two quarters in a row.
"Unfortunately, the previous administration failed to work out how to boost growth and expand the economic pie," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
"It is vital that we have an economic strategy that can create jobs and raise incomes to sustain growth."
Included in the spending package are plans to rebuild areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, support for regional economies, and more investment in education and social security.
Weaker currency
Mr Abe, who took office in December, has promised to take aggressive measures to help put the economy back on a growth track.
Among those has been a pledge to take measures to weaken the yen.
A weaker Japanese currency bodes well for the country's exporters as it makes their goods less expensive to foreign buyers and also helps boost their profits when they repatriate their foreign earnings back home.
The yen has weakened nearly 12% against the US dollar since November last year on hopes of such moves. It was trading close to 88.97 yen against the US dollar in Asian trade on Friday.
The government said that it would continue to keep a watch on the currency's movements and "respond as appropriate".
Japanese shares rose on the news of the stimulus with the Nikkei 225 index gaining 1.4%.
The Japanese government also hopes the latest stimulus spending will help to tackle deflation. Japan has been fighting deflation, or falling prices, for many years. It has been a big hurdle in policymakers' attempts to boost domestic demand because consumers tend to put off purchases in the hope of a better deal in the future.